Are there too many multiple occupancy homes in Abington? Questions councillor

Paul Lynch

Multi-occupancy homes in a part of Northampton are making it impossible to park, increasing fly-tipping and eroding the community a Labour councillor claims.

Councillor Zoe Smith (Lab, Abington) has called for an urgent review of the number of Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HiMOs) in Abington because she says the growth of them in recent years is putting too much pressure on the already overcrowded streets of the area.

She believes many of the HiMOs, homes which offer rented accommodation for a number of tenants, in the area could have been converted without the correct planning permission.

But she also says too many landlord’s applications to convert homes for multiple tenants are being passed by the borough council’s planning department.

She is due to raise the matter at the next full borough council meeting in September. She said: “The proliferation of HiMOs continues to be a problem in Northampton. In Abington parking is becoming an ever increasing problem for residents as spaces are becoming limited.

“More HiMOs are intensifying the pressure on parking and it is leaving residents feeling deeply frustrated.”

Councillor Smith said Abington has had a growth in the private rented sector, which has meant an increase in HiMOs and a “high transient population,” which she says is “not good for long-term community cohesion.”

“There is also additional pressure upon local community facilities,” she added.

“Of course, HiMOs in Abington also have more than two green sacks of rubbish per week.”

Councillor Smith has urged anyone who suspects a HiMO is operating without the correct planning permission to contact Northampton Borough Council on 0300 330 7000.